Laura Korte goes to the gym six days a week for Pilates classes, yoga and a low-impact cardio workout.
She also does weight workouts once a week with a personal trainer.
The 58-year-old Greenville woman says it helps control her Type 2 diabetes.
But more than that, it helps her maintain the active, healthy lifestyle she wants to live, whether it’s hiking with her gal pals in a Virginia national park, kayaking on an Alaskan cruise, or simply walking her 80-pound Labrador retriever around town.
“When I go on excursions, I want to do the ones that say strenuous activity, not mild activity,” she said. “I just took a class on paddleboarding. I want the strength and ability to do that.”
Exercise, in general, is good for all ages, says Dr. Fariha Khawaja Sultan, a geriatrician with Prisma Health.
But it’s particularly helpful to counteract some of the changes associated with aging, such as reduced muscle mass and strength, she said.
Physical activity improves strength, flexibility and mobility, she said, and also benefits cardiovascular and mental health.
While all types of exercise have positive results, group fitness activities provide the added benefit of social interaction, which is also important to this age group, she said.
Stay strong, start small
The type of exercise you do depends on your condition, Sultan said.
For a healthy 70-year-old who’s always been physically active, sports like tennis, basketball or running shouldn’t be a problem.
But that’s not true for an otherwise sedentary person.
“I know some people at 80 who are doing spinning,” she said. “But if you’ve never been on a bike in your life, you should not go spinning.”
If you want to go hiking, prepare with properly fitting shoes, a walking stick, and an emergency kit and then start on flat ground graduating to more hilly terrain, she said.
“It depends on your baseline level of functioning,” Sultan said. “My recommendation would be graduated exercise, with any sport. Grab some comfortable sneakers and start with walking in your neighborhood. If that does not make you feel uncomfortable, go up from there.”
Options for exercise range from the YMCA and private health clubs to Senior Action and even online programs.
The Life Center, for example, offers group fitness activities like yoga, Zumba, Pilates and spinning as well as treadmills, stair climbers, stationary bicycles and other machines; weight training; swimming; and indoor and outdoor walking tracks, said manager Libby Boerger.
Water aerobics and aqua Zumba are also available, she said.
“A lot of the exercises are ones that are low impact, so you’re not banging the body and the joints but still getting the body moving … and the heart rate up,” she said. “And there are water weights to add a little more resistance to strength training to counteract any bone loss.”
Because fitness levels vary, when it comes to yoga, Boerger said she typically recommends chair yoga first, which still stretches the body and helps with flexibility and stiff joints, just on a chair instead of the floor. It can be done at home as well, she said.
For those who haven’t exercised in years, she recommends starting with resistance training, which is good at any age to prevent bone density loss.
“You can pump your arms to get your heart rate up more,” she said. “And it also strengthens muscles and decreases your risk for heart disease.”
Life Center members like Korte can also use the facilities at Greenville County YMCAs. Personal trainers are available for one-on-one workouts as well.
Senior Action, which opened a new center at E. North St. and Howell Road in May, also offers a wide variety of exercise opportunities for members.
“We have a fitness center with treadmills, ellipticals, rowing machines, weights and recumbent bikes,” said executive director Andrea Smith.
“And we have a wide variety of SilverSneakers classes, which insurance may pay for.”
Options range from yoga and Zumba gold classes to tai chi and four kinds of line dancing, she said.
Fitter with age
Prior to retiring in 2018 from her job with a global chemical company, Korte’s exercise routine was limited to walking and a yoga or Pilates class or two a week.
“When I retired, I wanted to be able to increase my exercise program,” she said. “I am a Type 2 diabetic, so exercise is critical to maintaining my health.”
She’s also concerned about falling and osteoporosis – both of which can be staved off with core and balance exercise as well as weight training.
So she now takes three Pilates classes and four yoga classes in addition to her other workouts in the mornings. In the afternoons, she does volunteer work.
“I’m usually doing something six days a week and I walk on Sundays,” she said. “I try to get my 10,000 steps in throughout the day.”
Sultan cautions that anyone suffering chest pain, tightness or pressure during a normal activity like walking or household chores should check with their doctor before embarking on an exercise program to make sure there are no health issues.
People also should watch for dizziness, blood pressure issues, unsteadiness, and limiting pain or stiffness, she said.
“The biggest things for someone new exercising is always checking with their doctor,” said Boerger. “They may say it’s not right for them based on their health history.”
To learn more, go to Exercise and Physical Activity | National Institute on Aging (nih.gov)
Where to go
Prisma Health Life Center
875 W. Faris Road, Greenville
864.445.4231; prismahealth.org/locations
YMCA of Greenville
Five locations
864.412.0288; ymcagreenville.org
Sportsclub
Three locations
864.288.7220; sportsclubsc.com
